Following the sustained economic growth of the 1860s and
1870s came prosperity, culminating in
the building boom of the 1880s. Commercial buildings designed during this
decade included retail
arcades, which were designed to maximise street frontage in cities where
business space was
reaching a premium. Between 1881 and 1892 six large retail arcades were
developed in Sydney
alone.
Accomplished architect Thomas Rowe designed three arcades during this
period - the Royal Arcade
in 1881, the Sydney Arcade in 1882, and the
Imperial Arcade in 1891. He brought a European
influence to his designs creating elegant, spacious arcades with optimal
retail frontage and
cafes.

Nineteenth Century images- State Library of New South Wales

1882
Title
Pitt Street Entrance to the Royal Arcade.
Description
The Royal Arcade ran from George Street where the Hilton Hotel now
stands, through to Pitt Street near the School of Arts. Over 90 metres
long, it was well lit, with a lofty clerestory and gas lamps. There were
31 shops on the ground floor, 36 offices on the first floor and a
photographic studio above them at the George Street end.

Collingridge was a painter, illustrator and teacher who became staff
artist for the Illustrated London News and The Graphic both very
successful London newspapers, before emigrating to Australia. He founded
the New South Wales Art Society and was staff artist of the Illustrated
Sydney News.

From the original edition of the Illustrated Sydney News.

The Illustrated Sydney News, which was published from 1854 to 1889 and
included a number of high quality engravings to illustrate the
accompanying news and articles. It was issued on a monthly basis due to
the time consuming process of having to engrave each illustration which
would take one engraver between one and two weeks to make each one.
Many famous Australian colonial artists and illustrators were employed
in the making of them, such as Julian Ashton, Albert Cooke, Charles
Conder, Samuel Calvert, Frank Mahony and Arthur Collingridge. The
engravings provided a unique glimpse into colonial life, often depicting
situations or scenes that were less than flattering, in contrast to the
majority of sanctioned views that provided a sanitized portrayal of life
in Australia. Increasingly expensive to produce, the few illustrated
newspapers that made use of original engravings for their illustrations,
and that survived the economic collapse of the late1880's found
themselves competing against the new technology of photographic produced
half-tone and lino type processes the illustrations. By the turn of the
century most of the illustrated newspaper had closed.